Every Little Trait
by Irhaboggles
Summary: Even from their days of loathing, Elphaba and Galinda noticed every little trait about each other. Could anyone really say they were surprised when those days of loathing turned to loving? And when those little traits became endearing instead of annoying?


To say that Elphaba and Galinda disliked each other would be an understatement. They _loathed _one another, and they were constantly at each other's throats, screaming and arguing. Sometimes, it was about big things, like inconsiderate remarks or brash behaviors. Other times, it was about irrelevant, but understandable things, like calling each other stupid or lazy when one or the other failed on some sort of test or exam. But their loathing was so pure, so strong, that they found ways to nitpick each other for even the smallest of things. Every little trait went scrutinized and attacked and nothing was safe from the watchful, hateful eyes of Elphaba and Galinda. They knew all of each other's smallest quirks and had no reserves in attacking those quirks viciously. After all, how many times had Elphaba mocked Galinda for her favorite color?

"Oz, why do you wear so much pink? Is that the only color you're familiar with?" Elphaba grunted in disgusted at Galinda. Elphaba had been reclining in bed, trying to read, when Galinda had come barging in with an armful of shopping bags. Each of them contained yet another bright, pink, frilly, sparkly dress. It was sickening.

"Hark who's talking, Ms. Green-and-Black," the little blond retorted to the green girl without missing a beat. While Elphaba glared at her from her bed, Galinda only continued to shove her way into the dorm, harrumphing as she walked over to their shared closet to hang up her new dresses...

And it was not one-sided. Galinda took notice that Elphaba would sometimes sing to herself in the dorms, and she wasted no time in turning that little trait against the green-skinned girl.

"Ugh! It sounds like somebody dying in here!" Galinda screeched scathingly as she walked into her dorm room one day to hear Elphaba singing to herself. Her voice was actually magnificent, but of course Galinda wasn't going to say that. Elphaba cut off at once, whipping around to scowl at Galinda. Galinda, meanwhile, made a big show of covering her ears.

"I know, it is pretty bad," Elphaba admitted, suddenly looking agreeable. Galinda's eyes widened in shock and confusion, her not having expected Elphaba to agree with her. She uncovered her ears and opened her mouth, but Elphaba spoke up again before she could say anything.

"But trust me," the green girl continued. "I've heard worse every morning in the shower!"

"Oh! You horrible, terrible, mean, green thing!" Galinda shrieked in outrage, but Elphaba only gave her a smug smirk in reply.

But then the sparring sessions stopped. And quite abruptly, too, and it all happened at a dance party...

"May I cut in?" Galinda asked shyly as she approached Elphaba on the Oz-Dust dance floor. After realizing how horrible she'd been to Elphaba all semester, Galinda finally made the first steps to improving her relationship with her roommate. She extended an arm as she requested to join Elphaba in a dance. When Elphaba saw the sincerity in Galinda's eyes, she accepted and took Galinda by the hand.

That night, a powerful bond was struck. After the two finished a few dances, they went away for some punch and, during their awkward attempt at friendly talk, Elphaba noticed Galinda's fists clench and unclench out of nervousness. Elphaba knew why Galinda was nervous, she was attempting to apologize to the girl who had been her worst enemy for the entire year, after all, but she felt bad seeing Galinda looking so uncertain. It must've been bad if the emotional turmoil was manifesting in an outward behavior. As snippy as Galinda could be, she usually had an excellent control of her temper and it took a lot to get her going. Seeing her fists opening and closing made it clear to Elphaba that "nervous" wasn't a strong enough word to describe what she was feeling at the moment. Taking pity on the poor girl, Elphaba finally reached out her own hand and held Galinda's once more. Galinda gave Elphaba a look of surprise in response, but when she felt Elphaba massage her knuckles gently, she understood at once what Elphaba was trying to convey and she smiled, wrapping her own fingers right back around Elphaba's. Elphaba smiled too.

Next it was Galinda's turn to notice something. As the two foes-turned-friends stood hand in hand, overlooking the Oz-Dust ballroom, Elphaba kept looking down shyly, which caused a lock of thick black hair to fall in her eyes. Naturally, Elphaba would try to fix it, but then she'd look down shyly again and the lock would fall back into its original place, right in front of her eyes. Galinda knew she was being bold, but she wanted to help Elphaba again. It felt good to be good. So Galinda, almost unthinkingly, reached out and tucked the lock of rebellious hair behind a green ear instead of just tossing it back over her shoulder again. Elphaba jumped slightly when Galinda touched her so intimately, but she didn't flinch away or get angry. Galinda smiled.

From that night on, Elphaba and Galinda were friends, and they grew closer and closer every day. That was when the sparring sessions turned on their heads. Both Elphaba and Galinda still caught onto every little trait that the other displayed, but instead of finding it annoying, they found it endearing. Elphaba had since noticed that Galinda had a habit of humming to herself while doing makeup so, when the little preppy blond got out her makeup box, Elphaba leaned in a bit closer to hear what Galinda might hum tonight.

"I love that song!" Elphaba exclaimed as she recognized the tune.

"What do you mean?" Galinda asked, unaware that she'd been humming.

"You were humming," the green girl said.

"I was?" Galinda blushed. "I didn't even realize!"

"Oh, don't feel bad. It was lovely. Would you hum it again?" Elphaba asked, suddenly feeling her own face darken with color. Galinda felt touched and uneasy at Elphaba complimenting what most would call an annoying little trait, but she obeyed her friend's wishes and she began to hum again.

Later on that night, after much pleading on Galinda's behalf, Elphaba found herself getting another makeover.

"This didn't work last time. Can't you just let me be?" Elphaba asked, though she really, actually, didn't mind tonight's makeover that much because, tonight, Galinda was only doing her hair. Unbeknownst to the green girl, Galinda had always had a strange fascination with Elphaba's hair, so being able to play with it was a dream come true for the little blond.

"There we go!" Galinda said, signaling that she was done. She gave Elphaba a little mirror and the green girl peered at the shiny surface to see a beautiful braid curling from the back of her head to the tip of her hair which Galinda had thrown casually over her shoulder.

"I like it," Elphaba admitted. It really didn't look too bad. "But you missed a piece," she said, noticing a small strand of hair outside of the braid.

"No I didn't," Galinda sing-songed. "That's the strand of hair I always see you twirling around your fingers whenever you read!"

"I do that?" Elphaba asked, recoiling in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it," Galinda reassured Elphaba. "I think it's cute!" and Elphaba was so touched by that compliment and the fact that Galinda had noticed this little trait about her but hadn't found it weird or annoying that she had no idea what to say in reply.

"The hair twirling doesn't bother you?" Elphaba asked a bit later, still so unused to having a trait that someone didn't find repulsive.

"No more than my humming annoys you," Galinda shrugged. "I love every little trait you have," she added.

"And I feel the same," the green girl decided at last with a small. "Every little trait..."

**AN: Based off "What is This Feeling?" where the two witches somehow notice all these little quirks about one another, yet don't realize how gay that is until later. LOL. And then, those little traits go from being annoying to adorable, as you can see! (Can you believe I wrote a whole fanfic based on one line from one of the songs? I'm so shameless... LOL)**


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